


The worst possible world

by StorybookLover



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Blood, Bloodplay, Blow Jobs, But not how you think, Dark Will Graham, Gore, Hallucinations, Hannibal is Hannibal, Kinda, M/M, Murder, Public Blow Jobs, Will is a Cannibal, and a cannibal, it's a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:17:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6903634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StorybookLover/pseuds/StorybookLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will is planning on entering the hunger games and win it. When he meets his opponent Hannibal the plan gets more difficoult to keep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Will had always been an odd kid, never fit in with his classmates or any of the children in district 4. It wasn’t that he was on bad footing with them, he simply preferred to keep to himself. The only one he liked to talk to was his younger sister Abigail. She was 2 years younger then him and looked up to his skill on the fishing boat and his apparent ease with the water that was a large part of their district. 

When Will was 14 his life changed. A dark alley and a drunk man opened his eyes. Will already knew he was different, watching the hunger games never affected him as much as it affected his parents but he never realised why until he experienced the thrill of driving a blunt knife into the man who attacked him. The feeling was so strong, yet the lessons learned from a young age told him how bad these feelings were and he denied himself the pleasure of the kill for months. 

It all changed when he witnessed a man kicking his dog, a half starved mutt which howled pitily at the treatment. Anger ran hot trough Will and He felt the longing for the return of that satisfying flowing of blood. 

Will knew that the risk (chance) to be reaped in the games was large, especially for him who had taken tessera for his family so many times. But he also knew that he would have no chance of winning in the state he was in. He was no career, he was just one of the less well-off workers and had little to no experience or knowledge of neither surviving nor killing. He realised he had to do something about that and took to practicing at night. Not the same training as he knew the careers received. Almost no weapons training and no abundance of strength training. No. His nightly practices was all about taking out your enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible and so district four was held in additional terror from the murder inside their walls. 

 

Will was 18. For three years he had prepared himself and not been lucky enough to be reaped. For these years he had kept his shy exterior as a shield for the outside world and as a strategy for his games. That was why he was hoping to be reaped instead of volunteering, who would believe a volunteer from a career district to be weak? And his primary design relied on his opponents underestimating him. 

Now he knew, it was his last chance, it meant he had to be reaped or he would be forced to volunteer. His parents fussed over him as usual on the morning of the reaping, they were not overly worried since there would always be someone to take your place if you were reaped without waiting to. It was the blessing of the career districts. Will accepted their fussing, he knew that he was about to break their hearts and he was sorry for them, but he could not deny himself this. 

He was worried about Abigail as well, there was always more of a risk for girls. Even in district 4. Will walked with his family to the town square where the entire district was forced to gather, Abigail clung to his hand pressing close for the little comfort he could give her. 

 

”Abigail Graham”  
Will’s breath caught in his throat as silence spread over the crowd. Abigail walked towards the stage with her head held high and a quiet terror screaming from her eyes, her auburn hair glowed red in the Setting sun. She ascended the stage and turned to face the crowd and her eyes met Will’s begging him to save her. He couldn’t.  
”Congratulations Abigail” Tritus said, his forced cheer and false smile was making Abigail even more uncomfortable and Will could see her edging away from the man. ”But as tradition calls it we have to ask for volunteers, do we have any volunteers” Tritus called out to the crowd at his feet. The silence echoed in Will’s heart with every painful heartbeat and as if she could sense his pain Abigail sent him a small broken smile, as if to reassure him. It only broke his heart further. 

”I volunteer” A bulky girl called after what must have been mere seconds but felt like an eternity. Will let out his breath in a slow measured gush when Abigail accepted the volunteer and stepped back down from the stage. 

Before he had time to relax Tritus had hurried the ceremony along and had already called the name of the male tribute. No one stepped forward and Tritus cleared his throat and repeated the name. ”Will Graham?” 

Will perked up, bearly stopping a smile from forming when he made his way up to the stage.  
He shook Tritus hand avoiding eye contact as he always did, playing his role, now in front of the entire country. The thought brought a shiver down his spine, in pleasure of fear he didn’t know. Tritus called for volunteers as usual and three boys brought themselves to the stage immediately. ”Do you accept the volunteer” Tritus asked mockingly, thinking himself sure of Will’s acceptation.  
”No.” Will whispered with lowered eyes.  
”What was that” Tritus asked annoyed.  
”No, I don't accept the volunteers. If someone is to die it should be me.” He stated a bit clearly now, into the microphone held to his face. 

He couldn’t meet his parents eyes, he knew that he would have a hard time keeping his act up then and not reassure them of the fact that he would win. Instead he kept his eyes on the floor of the stage letting his eyes grow misty with tears when he was presenter as the male tribute of district 4. Rough hands manhandled him to a small room where he took a seat in the leather-clad armchair in the corner, waiting for his family to enter. 

Abigail came in first, attacking him with a vicious hug, as much a loving reassurance as a punishment for his recklessness. It didn’t take long however for her hug to become more desperate and Will could feel her body tremble from the force of her sobs. Will soothed her by slowly combing through her hair with his fingers until she untangled herself from him.  
”Don't worry pup, it’ll be alright” He said to her smiling calmly at her broken face.  
”How? How could it ever be alright without you?” She sniffled.  
”You won’t have to be without me for so long” Will promised he, trying to make her believe him. ”I can win this, i promise” Abigail looked at him searching for something in his face. She seemed to find it and nodded slowly.  
”You better” Was all she said before leaving to let their parents in. 

Will’s first meeting alone with his mentor took place later that evening on Will’s demand. Will stood looking out of the window of the train, his back to his mentor Bianca. She had won the games 5 years earlier, she was a vicious killer but didn’t have any tactic beyond that of brute strength.  
”Why do you even bother? You’ll be dead anyway.” Bianca said callously. Will smiled, she had swallowed his act hook, line and sinker.  
”I want my family see that I am at least trying to get back to them” He said meekly, not ready to give up his game yet, not to anyone. That was saved for the first day of the game.  
Will managed to get some information out of Bianca about the training, the interviews and started to form his plan around the information provided. 

 

First day of training was very interesting, Will invested time at the survival stations to learn snares and edible plants. Half his mind was always focused on his fellow competitors, analysing and observing. There were only 5 whom Will concluded to be actually threats in a fair fight. The girl from his district was smart and very strong, it was clear that she had plenty experience in many forms of fighting but Will could also see that she moved her left arm different. It was probably nothing she even noticed, no pain but still an aftereffect of an old hurt that left her vulnerable. Will could find these little weaknesses in everyone, a slightly damaged hearing from the district 5 tributes, the ones from 12 had asthma. He could find a way to hurt them all. All except one. 

Will first saw Hannibal Lecter at the course, running and jumping across the obstacles with a grace that Will had never witnessed before. He was the only worthy of his competitors and Will knew that it would be the two of them facing off against each other in the end, he could see it on Lecter’s face. Even if the other still had no idea that it was Will he would face.

When he had observed what he felt he needed Will turned to the physical stations, practicing the lighter weapons such as knifes and daggers that would be easy to to get his hands on in the arena and would not hinder his practised design. He had handled knifes plenty so he took to it as quickly as he took to fishing. 

 

Cesar Flickerman ruled his audience with a charming smile and sharp wit, Will barely had to say anything, just offer up some details of his family and give nervous smiles as Cesar made him appear cute and cuddly, exactly what he wanted. It might only bring him some sympathy sponsors but he had no wish for even that, he knew he could win by his own power, and if not that’s what is was meant to be. 

 

The hallway outside of the training hall was deadly quiet, even if it was filled with teens. Everyone was tense and waiting. The first person to exit the training centre was Hannibal Lecter. He walked regally by the children gathered there, making everyone look small beside him because of the calm confidence he projected. Will almost found himself holding his breath as he passed, chastising himself for his weakness he focused on his own plans instead. 

Will knew what he had to do. He couldn’t show his skills properly if he wanted a low score but he had to show enough to make sure his score was not so low that he would be singled out for it. He wanted to disappear with how normal he was. Starting of with some knives, Will could see the game makers grow bored to quickly. Deciding to step up his game he approached the tall wall which he climbed surely, halfway up he turned and let loose a knife towards the legs of one of the dummies. A hit, but not a deadly hit making him appear less inclined towards killing then would be necessary for the games, less inclined then he really was. 

Will was dismissed and he knew from the looks on the game makers that he had played his part to perfection once again. When he received his score of 8 he was confirmed correct and felt content even as his mentor and district partner looked at him in slight pity and a lot of scorn. 

 

The morning of the games Will woke with a sense of purpose and he could feel his carefully crafted facade starting to crumble but he willed it to stay up just a few more hours. He longed to let himself relax truly for the first time in what felt like an eternity of hiding himself behind a mask. 

Bianca was there to see him off in the private room under the arena. She regarded him with a stony expression, already seeing him as dead. Will met her eyes full on for the first time and could se her eyes widen at his smile. ”See you soon” He said as he entered the elevator that would bring him to the arena. He felt a feral grin tung at his lips and for the first time he let it out, just for a second, before he tucked it away when he felt himself starting to move. 

When he reached the surface he was gaping at his surroundings in awe. He stood in the dark except for the fact that the ground was glowing. Not the ground itself, he realised on a second look, it was small clusters of plants that gave off the unnatural glow. Will could see similar plants growing sparsely in the thick forrest that surrounded them giving it all a ghostly look. The tributes were placed around the ”cornucopia” and Will turned his focus to the supplies scattered in the clearing, his eyes scanning the ground for what he needed. 

A few meters away a small pack of matches lay, not needed. About halfway to the centre was a small collection of knives and an even smaller backpack. Will was prepared to fight for those things. 15 seconds remained until the game started. 

10 seconds, he felt his heart speed up in fear and anticipation.

5

4

3

2

1

Will ran. 

The still world was thrown into chaos at the sound of the gong, the strange glow became a frenetic flickering when bodies moved across the field. Will took aim at those knives, his attention shifting around at the other tributes around him. Reaching his goal in moments he grabbed the weapons and hurriedly unsheathed one of the knives. Not a second to late as a body was crashing in to him, trying to throw him to the ground. Will twisted to end up on top of his opponent and stabbed quickly into the body. Without waiting to see the effect of his attack he turned and grabbed the backpack and took off into the dark woods. 

It didn’t take long until he slowed his pace to a swift walk instead and allowed himself to relax slightly. Still on full alert to his surroundings but walking with longer steps and a smile on his face when he cleaned off the bloody knife in his hands. The forrest was slowly starting to change and grow lighter when the trees grew further apart. The unnatural darkness at the cornucopia disappeared when sunlight began to filter through the leaves. Will could no longer see any of those glowing plants but could instead see plants and trees that he was used to seeing at home, it gave him an assured feeling that he would have no problems with finding something to eat. 

He was wrong about that. There were no animals in the forrest that he could catch and neither could he find many berries, not any he could recognise with enough certany to eat at least. By the time that the sun had set he was beginning to feel the stir of familiar hunger in his stomach. Music echoed over the arena as the national anthem played and the images of the dead tributes projected on the sky. 7 tributes had died on the first day, both tributes from 5, the girl from 7, girl from 10, the boy from district 11 and both tributes from 12. He laid to rest in a cavity in the ground and covered it with branches and lush moss, hoping for some food the next day.

 

It wasn’t until the early afternoon of the second day Will finally came across another player. Will heard them move clumsily through the bushes long before he saw the mousy haired girl stumble out behind a tree. She didn’t even have time to scream before his hands had snapped her neck with practiced ease. When Will felt the muscles and bone in her fragile neck break under his hands he let out a tension he didn’t know he had held. He felt a smile bloom on his face, there was no turning back now, he would finally allow himself to be seen as he was. It was freeing in a way to let his facade fall around him without the fear of hanging for his crimes. Here it was not frowned upon to kill others or even to enjoy doing so, though his family would be averse to it. That was his only regret. 

Will left the body of the girl laying under the tree with the sun shining on her pale skin making it look like she was still alive, sleeping under the branches of the lush tree. As he moved away he heard the hovercraft coming to take her away but didn’t turn back to watch her being lifted up into the air, he was once again hunting for his next victim.

The hunger really struck him now and he knew that he had to eat something soon. He decided to take his chances in finding another player closer to the cornucopia and set of into the dark forrest once again. 

He was relieved when he finally found someone, a tall gangly boy from district 9. Will knew that he should just kill the boy and get it over with but the thrill of an actual fight was to much to resist when he had no more reason to hide. Will stepped out in the clearing, startling the other tribute who jumped up and drew the small pocket knife he had managed to get his hands on, holding it in front of him shaking. With all the time in the world Will stepped forward triggering the boy to throw himself forward, he then slashed his own knife down the other’s arm causing blood to cover the blade once again. The boy screamed and clutched at his upper arm looking at Will with terror in his eyes.

Will walked forward again and managed to get the exact same reaction from the scarred boy. Once again his knife found it’s way to flesh opening up the chest in a short brutal stroke. Will could feel the glee rising inside him, he had never dared to stay and gloat over his victims but had been careful not to be found. The screams and the look in the boy’s eyes brought a feeling of power that exceeded everything he had known. With a smile on his face Will kept drawing blood, little by little until the boy lay unmoving before him. A cannon echoed in the forrest.

One hunger now stilled it was time to see what the boy had acquired from the cornucopia. A small backpack lay by a tree where the boy had been sitting and in it Will found what he had hoped. A loaf of bread, some dried meat. A perfect meal. 4 tributes had died during the day apart from his kills, the girl from 3, both tributes from 8 and the boy from district 6. On the second night Will went to bed with a fully sated stomach. 

 

Will sat at his fire resting against the trunk of a tree, the blue glow from the plants dimmed by the stronger light of the fire. He wasn’t worried that anyone would find him, he knew that he would kill them before they killed him.  
Despite his conviction that he would hear someone approach easily he suddenly found himself eye to eye with a pair of maroon eyes which regarded him curiously.  
”I could make you something to eat if you are hungry” Hannibal Lecter said calmly.


	2. Chapter 2

”I could make you something to eat if you are hungry” Hannibal Lecter said calmly, his voice carrying an exotic accent that muddled his words slightly. Will just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It was not exactly commonplace to offer to cook dinner for someone in the hunger games, suspicion was the least he should feel right now, terror might be the most rational. Instead he found himself gesturing at the fire saying ”Go ahead, I’m famished” 

Hannibal opened his backpack and sat down by the fire starting to unpack an entire kitchen worth of supplies. He had some sort of meat, it looked like he had done some hunting in the arena despite the rareness of animals. He also had different herbs and flowers.   
”May i have your assistance in chopping these leaves into fine pieces” Hannibal asked politely handing Will some form of herb he suspected, he could not identify it but it did smell wonderful.   
”Do you usually invite your pray to dinner?” Will asked as he sliced the leaves with his own knife. This was met by a startled laugh from Hannibal ”Not very often, no” He said, clearly implying that it was not the first time with a secret smile. 

”Before the game then, interesting” Will mused while Hannibal started to cook the meat. Hannibal paused and looked at Will appearing truly surprised for the first time. So Will had struck a nerve there, that was truly interesting! A fellow murder, perhaps he should leave Hannibal alive for a while longer, he was getting more intriguing by the minute. 

They sat in silence while Hannibal finished the food but they were both observing the other, not in an aggressive manner but rather the way two potential friends would watch one another. 

”Bon apetite” Hannibal said as he presented the dish with as much flourish as if it was served on a silver platter instead of a flat rock straight from the ground.   
Will smiled and tanked Hannibal as he dug in, pausing after the first bite to look in wonder at Hannibal. ”This is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted” Will said honestly. He had tasted good food at the capital of course but None of it would come close to the authenticity of this. The consistence of the meat, the clear taste of every single spice blending together perfectly. Will took another bite savouring the taste before his hunger forced him to gulp it down in a starved hurry. 

”I have been thinking.” Hannibal said slowly, his tone carefully measured. ”I had no plans on forming any alliances in here but I feel it would be in both our interest to let our paths converge for a time” 

Will watched him curiously and nodded absentmindedly, ”Yes I feel that we have some things in common that would be interesting to explore” He answered truthfully. Their eyes met over the fire and they shared a smile. 

”So... You have any family?” Will asked to fill the silence and to start up a conversation with his new ally.   
”I had a sister but no, I have no family.” Hannibal answered curtly.   
”Wrong question then, I apologise. I have my entire family, parents and younger sister.” Will felt himself relax and smile, hoping Abigail was watching. ”I miss her the most, I promised her I’d return to her” Will added and saw Hannibal nod his head in understanding.   
”You had no catalyst?” Hannibal inquired.   
”Huh” Will made a questioning noise at. The back of his throat.  
”To start you off on Killing?” Hannibal said frankly, looking at Will as if trying to see right through him.   
”Aha, well I guess it was when I was mugged in an alley three years ago.” Will answered, deciding he might as well be as honest as possible since he suspected that his honestly would be paid for with answers he himself wanted. Of course it was never good to start a potential friendship with lies.

What?? Friendship? Where did that come from, they were allies, no more, one of them would be dead when this was over. Don’t get attached now for the first time in your life Graham, he told himself. 

”I killed him when he attacked me and came to the conclusion that I enjoyed it and decided to continue to enjoy myself” It was probably the most honest he had ever been with another person and he was surprised to find how good it felt to be seen. 

”You?” He countered, curious what the answer’d be.   
”I suppose it would be my sister’s death, I first killed the men who had killed her and fed her to me. It simply made me realise my proclivity for violence” He answered with no infliction of emotion in his voice.   
”And taste for human flesh” Will said, realising exactly what Hannibal had hunted for their dinner. ”I should be disgusted, or at least offended that you neglected to tell me” He said lightly, realising how little he actually cared.   
”You didn’t ask” Hannibal said with a slight smile.   
Will gave a snort of amusement at that and conceded with a nod that he should perhaps have asked what his opponent in the hunger games was feeding him. It could just as well have been poison, but Will had a feeling Hannibal wouldn’t ruin the food like that. 

”I wonder if my family’s watching this” Will said with a strange mix of wishing they was watching and dreading that they actually might. ”I miss them terribly, but I have a feeling their opinion of me has changed drastically in these last days” Will continued sadly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the tree again. Hannibal remained quiet looking at Will pensively, trying to figure him out. 

”Anyway,” Will said getting up and getting his sleeping bag ”I’ll be going to sleep about now so. Night Hannibal”   
”Good night William” Hannibal said smoothly preparing to do the same.   
Will realised now that none of them had introduced themselves, apparently they had both had their eyes on the other since before the games started, maybe his perfect mask wasn’t so perfect after all. He couldn’t help but wonder if Hannibal had planned to kill him or befriend him earlier, not that it mattered now.

Will fell asleep with thoughts of home on his mind. 

When Will woke the next day a small part of him was surprised that Hannibal hadn’t killed him during the night, he had no problems voicing that feeling. Honesty was becoming an addiction now that he had tried it.   
”You didn’t kill me either” Hannibal countered.  
”No.. It would be to anticlimactic after last night. If I were to kill you I would make your death worthy of you” Will said. 

The breakfast they shared was just as good as last night’s dinner, despite Will now knowing what exactly he was eating, or whom he supposed. ”So I guess now that we are allies we should, I don’t know, come up with a plan or what??” Will asked as he smothered the fire by shovelling dirt over it.   
”I think we should take a shot at the careers” Hannibal said bluntly, looking at Will in challenge. Will was skepticism to the Idea, they were so many but... Perhaps if you separated them..   
”Take them out, one by one and then hunt the ones scattered around the arena.” Will mused out loud ”Yes that would work”  
Hannibal smiled at him and Will could see the hunter peer out from behind his eyes more clearly then ever. 

It was decided that they would take turns in keeping an eye on the career’s camp, looking out for any opportunity to get one of them alone. So Will sat crouched down in the undergrowth at a respectable distance from the camp, keeping a bored eye on the group of people milling around the cornucopia. The careers consisted of the female tribute from district one, both tributes from 2 and Will’s partner from four. One surprising addition to the group was the boy from 7, he was Dark skinned and on the lean side, he must have something that made him valuable. Will could not help to wonder why the careers had decided to stay here in the unfamiliar terrain. Perhaps the long ingrained tradition made it an easier decision, at least until they completely ran out of food.

 

Their first chance came that afternoon when the boy from district 2 announced that he would go check their snares for food. It appeared that even the careers had trouble with food, the game makers must have decided to live up to the name of the game this year. It might have been an even better Idea to ally himself with Hannibal then he’d first thought then, as Hannibal seemed to be able to find edible things everywhere in the arena. Even in the other tributes.   
Will had to admit that it was quite a good tactic for nourishment, it was unlikely the other tributes would think the thought until they were truly desperate and that would give the two of them an edge over everyone else when they were not delirious by hunger. 

District 2 was a well muscled boy, obviously used to the heavy hammer that he carried in his left hand. Will knew he might have had problems with this player had he been alone. Not now though.

Hannibal took the initiative and stalked up behind the boy when he was kneeling to search a small pit covered with leaves. Will brought out his knife in preparation as he readied himself to run out at any moment.   
Before Hannibal could strike the boy turned around, finished with his work. The tribute from district 2 stumbled backwards in shock at the sight of Hannibal right in front of him. In seconds both Will and Hannibal was on him, each getting in stabs with their respective weapons. 

This was not the end however as their opponent managed to push them off him and stumbled to his feet, swinging his hammer wildly around him in a frenzy. Will was fast and ducked under the projectile, bringing his knife up between the boy’s ribs. The boy dropped the hammer to the ground, hands instead pushing at Will’s hand weakly. Will jerked the knife out with a gush of blood and pushed the boy to the ground where he lay in a gasping heap, not even catching enough breath to scream his agony. Will took a step back, watching dispassionately as the boy struggled to hold on to his slipping life. 

Hannibal took his knife and stalked towards the dying tribute and Will watched him curiously, wondering what he’d do.   
”The tenderest meat is located right here, below the shoulder blades on a person” Hannibal said manhandling the boy to get access to the described part. Hannibal carved through the flesh with apparently practiced ease.   
”Do you always do this while they’re alive?” Will asked with a note of distaste at the sight of the boy’s eyes pleading with him and ever more so at the smell spreading from the dying boy as his bowels began to empty.   
”Would it be better if he was already dead?” Hannibal asked.  
”I don’t know, probably not.” Will admitted with a slight smile. Something he could not deny to himself however was how the sight of Hannibal covered in blood made him feel. Will had never felt any sexual feelings when killing, but he had never had anyone to share it with he supposed. And he could not deny that Hannibal was attractive, especially in red. 

The meat was collected quickly, an assortment of fillets and organs. There was plenty enough so it would last a while but not enough so it’d spoil. Will helped with wrapping it up, some of it was wrapping with what little plastic foil Hannibal had managed to find and the rest was wrapped in leaves. Hannibal took special care with the heart and wrapped it with a mixture of herbals.

”He had a fantastically healthy heart, it will taste exquisite” Hannibal promised Will when they made camp for the night. Hannibal started to prepare dinner immediately while Will sat down to watch him.  
”Do you always spend this much time on your meals?” Will asked curiously.   
”Yes” Hannibal answered simply while he sat up a complex cooking pit. Will considered this for a while, wondering what Hannibal was used to. He must have a very privileged life if he had time to spend on his own pleasure.   
”We never had neither money or time to eat anything but hastily thrown together stews or simple dishes” Will told Hannibal, ”It feels strange to eat more luxurious food during the hunger games then I am used to” Hannibal laughed softly, it was a very calming sound and Will felt himself relax even as he struggled not to be affected by the other boy. 

”I used to throw dinner parties back in district one, I am probably a little spoiled with comfort” Hannibal conceded.  
”Dinner parties?” Will asked curiously ”A social butterfly then? I can imagine.” He said as he studied Hannibal moving around the floor of the Forrest like it was a fully furnished kitchen.   
”I have always found that it’s Nice to have an old friend for dinner” Hannibal said.  
Will let out a startled snort which then evolved into a full bellied laugh at that terribly pun.   
Hannibal chuckled slightly as well, observing Will with oddly soft look on his face.   
”It’s the first time someone had appreciated my puns” He admitted, still smiling.  
”Well that is understandable actually” Will snorted in humour, ”Either they had no idea what you meant or they were probably dying. Or perhaps they just have very poor humour in district 1.” Will said humorously. 

Hannibal passed the plate to Will just as properly as last night but when Will took it their hands touched slightly and Hannibal kept the touch for just a moment longer then necessary. Will felt himself react to the touch in several ways, none of them healthy for his mental stability. He cleared his throat discreetly and subtly shifted his position. ”Thank you again” He said when he started to eat the food.   
”Anytime” Hannibal answered with a knowing smile, obviously having picked up on Will’s uncomfortable situation and finding it amusing. Will was not as amused and huffed awkwardly.

 

Morning came but the sun still failed to shine through the trees, leaving the blue glow the only source of light once again. Will felt like he was under water, air hardly supplying enough oxygen and he liked it. It was a perfect environment for the bloody game they were playing. 

 

Will was confused, during the day Hannibal had kept up the closeness he had initiated last night and Will got jumpy by all the physical contact. It left him wondering about Hannibal’s intentions but above everything else he started to question his own resolve to stay objective towards Hannibal. He felt himself react to every little touch and to every word. It was a nightmare, even so it felt so good.

Despite his solitary childhood Will had never craved closeness until now, it was just like him to get attached for the first time when he knew that only one of them could come out of this alive. Still as he fretted he felt a strange warmth in the felling he got every time he looked at Hannibal. Something he never knew he was missing surged through him and he knew that he was constantly blushing, for the first time having lost control of his reactions. 

 

”What’s it like? In district 1 I mean.” Will asked as they walked through the trees, casually looking for other tributes, hands touching innocently. Hannibal hummed in thought, trying to find words.  
”It’s... It’s very boring. Industrial and boring. Everything is made out of the same colour of cement and built in the same square shapes, incredibly dull.” Hannibal said distastefully. ”What about district 4?” He asked curiously. Talk about the district were close to forbidden besides the necessities and they were both keen to know about each other’s worlds.   
”Wet.” Will said jokingly. ”No, but there is very much water in our district. But it’s so very beautiful no matter if I’ve watched it my whole life. It has so many moods and colours depending on the weather and time of day, clear blue on a summers day, so bright you can see the bottom at several feet’s deep. And on stormy days it goes grey and towers up in waves several meters high that crashes over the shores in a fountain of white foam.”

With a wistful smile Will told Hannibal about his home and the places around that he liked best. ”I have dogs there as well, seven actually-”   
”Seven dogs? Really?” Hannibal looked confused over the concept of dogs as pets, seeing them as nothing more then a nuisance.   
”Yeah, they are very good listeners and don’t judge like people do.” Will said self consciously. ”I suppose they’re my only friends.” A soft look appeared on Hannibal’s face at the admission. 

Silence fell over them when they strolled through the trees, hands clasped between them, swinging with the motion of their walk. The hand in his was like the foundation of Will’s new world, the easy closeness he had not craved yet now couldn’t breath without. Their easy time was interrupted by a loud creaking of branches in the forrest, stopping them in their steps. Crouching down slightly they met eyes and started to circle the sound, moving until they were on opposite sides of the tribute forcing her way through the arena. 

They got the girl from 1 trapped between them and began to narrow the distance, now standing up, showing her that she was stuck. The girl looked franticly between them trying to find an escape. She couldn’t.  
”Hannibal! Hannibal please!” She started to yell. Will remembered then that this was Hannibal’s district partner, from Hannibal’s face he could see that there was no care for their common home. She could see it too and turned to Will, hoping he would be the weaker of them and ran at him, trying to pass him. With a shrill scream she fell to the ground at his feet with her guts spilling out of a wide slash across her stomach. She struggled to hold her innards in place, staining herself with blood and guts as she bled out into the soft moss. 

Hannibal was once again the one to take initiative in the care of the body but this time he helped guide Will’s hand to get the best cuts. Will felt delight in Hannibal’s chest pressed against his back and the arm circling him to lead the knife through bloody flesh. The hand around Will’s was larger then his and covered his with the warmth of human skin, calloused and scarred yet softer then anything Will had felt. Will breathed out slowly to calm himself, when he breathed in he was filled with Hannibal’s scent and he could not help himself when his head fell back against Hannibal’s shoulder.   
This intimacy was just as addicting as he had found the truth to be, but so much harder to resist.

”Are you taking this well Will?” Hannibal said concerned. Will made a confused sound at the question. ”I apologise, but sometimes this can be hard to digest” Hannibal deadpanned and held up a part of a rib. Will looked confused for a while then burst out laughing like a maniac, giving ugly snorts of humour and pushed Hannibal away lightly. Blood dripped from his fingers and Will flicked his hand at Hannibal, bringing a rain of red over him. Will smiled brightly at Hannibal as he looked at Will with a raised eyebrow.

Will dipped his hand in the blood and once again flickered it at Hannibal playfully, watching when Hannibal approached the body, dipping his hand and quickly smearing blood all over Will’s face. Surprised Will spluttered out some blood. Hannibal laughed then, a short, genuine laugh and then looked almost confused for a moment before resuming his delighted laugh. Will stopped to revel in the sight of his happiness, both of them having forgotten this feeling. 

Their eyes met, glittering and joyful and for the first time in so long; alive. 

 

 

Will watched Hannibal remove his shirt to clean himself off and he felt all his resolve crumble and he found his lips pressed tightly against Hannibal's. Hannibal froze for a second before he grabbed Will tightly, kissing him back with vigour. With a moan Will opened his mouth to Hannibal and felt the soft heat of his mouth against his as their tongues explored each other. Will felt his back hit a tree and was pressed up against it and he wrapped his legs around Hannibal’s waist, keeping him as close as possible. 

Running his fingers down Hannibal’s smooth belly to finger the waist of his pants teasingly, feeling one of Hannibal’s hands lodge itself in his hair in return. Their mouths broke apart to gasp for air and Will couldn’t resist the urge to move his lips to Hannibal’s neck, licking at the blood still clinging to the skin. A taste of copper, woods and something indescribable mixed on Will’s tongue and made him hungry for more. His mouth left marks all down Hannibal’s neck and to his chest, only interrupted by the fast removal of his shirt.

Hannibal groaned loudly when Will bit down at his jugular, drawing blood. Will lapped up the blood emitting keening noises when Hannibal massaged his erection through the rouge material of his pants. 

Rutting his hips forward eagerly against Hannibal’s hand while Hannibal was pushing him rythmicly into the tree, chasing his own release against Will’s hip. 

 

A loud pained scream woke Will and he sat up straight, grabbing for his weapon and staring into the darkness around him. He had no idea what time it was, it could be early morning but the only light was the ever glowing plants. The scream was cut off and the air was filled with a loud growling sound. Will and Hannibal hurriedly picked their things together and stood side by side facing the approaching foe. 

Dark and snarling, the huge cat appeared out between the thick trees. It was covered in silky black fur and had it’s mouth open in a menacing grin filled with sharp teeth the length of Will’s forearm. Gliding over the ground like a ghost it attacked with an agility that made it look like the flow of water, swift, smooth and unrelenting. Will had nothing against this beast and was thrown to the ground with a shout of pain at the claw that cut his thigh open. 

”Hannibal!” Will heard himself yell when the animal turned around for another attack when Will lay unmoving on the ground. Will met Hannibal’s eyes and saw a conflict in them that he couldn’t understand but he could clearly see the result. 

Hannibal moved in between Will and the approaching beast with the hammer from district 2 held high. He swung it with all his might at the head of the cat and it hit with a loud crunch. It fell to the ground at his feet still breathing faintly. Hannibal brought down the hammer over and over until it stilled completely before he turned to Will. Their eyes met and Will could see the worry there as Hannibal knelt beside him to look at his bloody leg.   
”You saved me.” Will stated flatly ”I didn’t think you cared enough to keep me alive”

Hannibal didn’t meet his eyes but started to clean out the wound with His water bottle. ”I gave it some thought” Hannibal murmured, revealing what his inner fight had been about. ”My compassion for you is inconvenient but I find myself wanting to keep you alive for as long as possible” Warmth flooded Will and he looked at Hannibal’s bowed head and lifted it with his hand to meet his eyes. Then he smiled brilliantly ”I care about you to you know” Will caressed Hannibal’s stubbled chin with his thumb and saw the other lean into his touch. 

”If it were another time, another place, I believe I would have called it love” Hannibal confessed, pressing his lips softly to Will’s temple. Tears gathered in Will’s eyes at their impossible situation.   
Desperate lips pressed against each other, hands touching faces mapping their designs. Will slid his fingers over Hannibal’s eyelids and delicate lashes reverently. Slowly they explored soft skin and rough callouses, every little scar and mark was carefully examined and worshiped. 

Nothing evolved to a sexual encounter, they simply took comfort in each other. Exchanging words of care and personal stories as they got to know each others’ bodies. 

They fell asleep tangled in each other that night. 

 

”We’re almost out of spices for dinner” Hannibal started carefully ”I would need to go back to the regular forrest to find something to spice up tonights dinner with.”   
”It’s not like I’ll let you go by yourself, I like it better there anyway” Will concluded, picking up his stuff and preparing himself to leave immediately. ”You coming?”  
With a smile Hannibal followed behind him and they walked slowly away from the dense forrest and into the open, recognisable part of the arena again. 

 

The element of surprise worked against them this time when a red haired girl and a small boy jumped them at the edge of darkness. Not having time to adapt to the sudden light, Will and Hannibal was caught at a huge disadvantage. Will was cut. In the side and Hannibal thrown to the ground before any of them could do anything. Will was the first to get his bearings. Boy from 10, small and fast but not very strong and Will soon had him under his control, holding the boy against his chest, knife to his throat. 

The girl was on Hannibal trying to cut him with an axe but she stopped dead when Will called attention to him.   
”If you step away from him now I will let your friend live” Will said to the girl seeing the panic in her eyes.   
”Go ahead. I don’t care about him” She tried to lie convincingly but Will saw through it with ease.   
”Yes you do. He is the spitting image of your younger brother who died in your early life, you couldn’t stop yourself caring however you tried. You will let Hannibal go and lay down your own life to save his.” Will said with utter conviction and saw her fall apart before him. She dropped the axe and went down to her knees before him, begging Will to let the boy go.   
Will looked her deeply into her eyes and pulled un the boy’s hair, baring his throat.   
”Let Hannibal take the axe.” Will said, revelling in the power it brought him to see her obey him so readily. Hannibal met Will’s eyes in understanding as he picked up the axe gracefully.   
Watching Hannibal take a step back he met the girl’s scared eyes again. 

Will brought the knife clean across the boy’s throat, letting the blood spray over the red haired girl to the sound of a echoing cannon. The girl’s scream tore through the ringing silence after the cannon, a high tormented sound that hurt Will’s ears with the pitch of it. Hannibal raised her axe and lodged it deeply in her skull. Quickly her bright hair was coloured a darker, matted red of the blood. Her skull was seen through her flesh, a white ornament in a sea of scarlet.

**Author's Note:**

> I had to post the first chapter because I was getting so impatient but the next should be up in a day or two. Thank you for reading this! Leave a kudos if you liked it :)


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